


In The Beginning, There Was Bigfoot

by ItspronouncedJulia



Series: Hawk Point [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bigfoot - Freeform, Brother-Sister Relationships, Camping, Cryptozoology, Dogs, F/F, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Dynamics, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hunters & Hunting, Origin Story, Paranormal, Paranormal Investigators, Prequel, Protective Azula (Avatar), Sasquatch, Social Media, The Gaang - Freeform, YouTube
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23515603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItspronouncedJulia/pseuds/ItspronouncedJulia
Summary: Thirteen years before the forming of their investigation team a series of separate events occur, in which each member of the future Hawk Point team encounters a strange creature/creatures within forests, leading them each on the same path into the exciting world of cryptozoology.
Relationships: Azula/Katara, Hakoda/Kya (Avatar), Ozai/Ursa (Avatar)
Series: Hawk Point [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692562
Comments: 17
Kudos: 36





	1. Wood Knocking

**Author's Note:**

> *These stories take place within the span of one year. These events happen thirteen years before the official formation of Team Hawk Point.
> 
> **While I've had a life long love for Big Foot and all other sorts of cryptids I am by no means an expert. I've tried to use different elements from stories I've heard over the years, hopefully they came out good! I hope you guys enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While camping in the forest outside of Omashu Sokka and Katara hear strange noises.

“Let’s go to Hawk Point Lookout,” Sokka suggested the moment his feet hit the gravel. “If we leave now we can probably be back in camp before sunset.” He added as Katara climbed out of their father’s pickup truck. 

“And who do you think is going to set up camp while you two are out enjoying the woods?” Hakoda asked as he shut his door and began to come around the back of the truck. Sokka smiled broadly as he trotted behind his father. 

“You and mom!” Sokka said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. To him, it was. Sokka and Hakoda both looked up as they heard Kya chuckling. They both smiled as she appeared from the passenger side. 

“Did you hear that Hakoda, me and you get the honor of setting up camp all by ourselves,” she teased as she made her way over to them, Katara right on her heels.

“Aren't we lucky,” Hakoda grunted as he looked back towards the bed of his truck.

“Well,” Katara began the moment Hakoda stopped speaking. “It is Sokka’s birthday, we should be allowed to do the fun stuff!” She argued, naturally. Sokka smiled and looked up at his father triumphantly as if they had already won the argument.

“Is that so?” Kya asked, smilingly warmly down at her daughter.

“It is so!” Katara said confidently.

“Yeah it is so!” Sokka added, causing Hakoda to chuckle as he considered what his children were saying.

“It is Sokka’s _thirteenth_ birthday,” Katara added when she felt like Hakoda was taking too many seconds to answer. 

“Yeah, that’s a very important birthday for a young man!” Sokka said quickly and this time both Hakoda and Kya couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Alright!” Hakoda said, caving into them. “Your mother and I will set up camp while you two go and have fun in the woods.” Katara and Sokka both cheered as they started to take off across the clearing they had chosen to set camp up in. It was their usual camping spot whenever they went out into the woods, which was often, so Sokka and Katara were fairly familiar with the area. Still, Kya could help but call out to them.

“Be careful out there! Watch your step!” 

“Yes, mama!” Katara called over her shoulder as she and Sokka tore across the small clearing and towards the treeline. There was a narrow path that lead up to Hawk Point Lookout, running perpendicular to the beaten up trail was a small stream that always let Sokka and Katara know they had the right path that lead them back to their campsite. There were a lot of identical looking trails around the lookout that lead to different parts of the forest and it would be easy to get lost out there without such a marker.

“Mama said to be careful Sokka,” Katara reminded him as he jumped over an old, gnarled tree root that was laying across the path.

“Don't worry,” Sokka said as Katara carefully stepped over the root. 

“Without mama here, someone has to,” Katara informed her brother as she hurried behind him. Sokka barely paid her any mind as he continued up the path. The two walked for close to a half hour before coming into a small clearing. It was smaller than the one they were setting camp in.

In the center was Hawk Point Lookout an old, seemingly abandoned tree stand, that Sokka and Katara had found and named about a year ago while exploring. It was high up between two tall trees and was just big enough that Sokka and Katara could squeeze in there together. Sokka and Katara both loved to climb up there and get a beautiful view of the forest around them.

“I wonder if we’ll see any deer,” Katara said excitedly as she and Sokka hurried over towards the tree stand.

“Maybe we’ll see a grizzly bear!” Sokka said with a wide smile.

“I hope we don't see a grizzly bear,” Katara said causing Sokka to laugh.

“What are you scared?” Sokka taunted. 

“Duh,” Katara said with a roll of her eyes. “What sane person would be excited to see a grizzly bear?” She demanded. 

“Dad!” Sokka exclaimed. Between the two trees were about ten or eleven planks of wood that made a makeshift ladder up to the tree stand. Sokka grabbed the fourth plank of wood with his hands and placed his foot on the first one. “It’s his favorite animal to see when we go to the zoo,” he added as he hoisted himself up.

“That doesn’t count Sokka,” Katara informed her brother. “I’m sure if daddy saw a bear out in the woods without any glass or walls protecting him he wouldn’t be as-”

_KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK._

The words died in the back of Katara’s throat at the sound. Sokka froze mid-climb and both siblings turned to look towards the loud knocking. It sounded far away, the echoing rippling throughout the forest.

“What was that?” Katara asked hesitantly as she took a step back.

“Probably just an animal,” Sokka said as he started his climb up the ladder again. “Come on scaredy-cat Katara!” He goaded when Katara stayed rooted in place. Her eyes were glued in the direction of the sound and she didn't react to Sokka's teasing.

“Katara come on!” Sokka said feeling himself becoming somewhat annoyed. “Are you really scared of a few knocks?”

“No!” Katara snapped as she turned to look at her brother. “It just...it…” she trailed off as she turned her eyes to the ground a blush flooding her cheeks as a wave of embarrassment hit her. She didn’t know how to word her thoughts without sounding as if she was afraid.

“There are always weird sounds in the woods,” Sokka said as he hopped off the makeshift ladder. His words did little to comfort his sister who still had a worried look written across her face. “Don't worry, as long as big brother is around nothing bad will happen.” He promised as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Katara smiled as he looked up at him and for half a second she was beginning to feel better. 

And then it happened again.

_KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK._

Katara’s smile immediately dropped as both she and Sokka again turned to look in that direction. 

“Sokka…” Katara whimpered as she inched closer to her brother.

“Relax,” Sokka said softly as Katara snatched her hand out and took his. 

“That wasn’t a normal forest noise,” Katara insisted. “And that wasn’t an animal that couldn’t be...that sounded like- like-”

“Relax!” Sokka said again as he turned to look at his sister. Her eyes had gone wide like saucers and she was breathing heavily. If he had to guess her heart was ready to beat out of her chest as well. 

“Don't tell me to relax!” Katara said. 

_KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK._

Katara squeaked as she jumped back, releasing Sokka’s hand as she did so. Sokka frowned as he took a step forward in that direction. He wasn’t scared, maybe a little, but only because of Katara’s reaction. They had spent so much time in the woods and there were odd noises all the time. Sure he had never heard anything like this but he was only thirteen, certainly, there were still some things about the outdoors that were still left to uncover. 

“Katara-”

“That sounded like wood knocking on wood,” Katara whispered, her words coming out shaken as she spoke. 

“Stop freaking out,” Sokka said a little bit more harshly than he intended. “I told you it’s probably just an animal.” But Katara was having none of it. She glared up at her older brother before speaking again

“Sokka that’s _wood_ knocking on _wood_ ,” Katara said in the same tone as her brother. “What animal could pick something like that up? A monkey maybe but monkeys don't live in these woods, it has to be another person.”

“So what if it’s another person then?” Sokka demanded. “Dad said loads of other people like this area.”

“Why are they knocking on the trees?” Katara demanded.

“Who cares?” Sokka asked back. “It’s none of our business and it isn’t harming us.”

“Well, it’s freaking me out!” Katara said shifting from one foot to another. “I’m scared, I want to go back to camp.” Sokka frowned as he listened to his sister. He had been looking forward to this trip for weeks, especially coming up here to Hawk Point Lookout. Even with the knocking, he didn’t want to leave but he could see Katara was getting more and more scared with every passing second.

Half the fun of coming up here was being with Katara and exploring the area and clearly she no longer wanted to do that. What kind of big brother would he be if he tried to make her stay in a place she was scared of? 

“Okay-” 

_KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK._

Sokka and Katara spun around. Previously the sound had been coming from the North in front of them but now, an identical sound was coming from the South. It sounded closer to them than the original knocking but still far away. Katara felt her stomach twist with fear. Clearly whoever was doing the knocking were communicating to one another. What they were communicating mattered little to Katara, she just needed to get back to her mother!

“Sokka!” Katara cried, tears now freely running down her face. Sokka didn’t say anything, instead, he grabbed her wrist and began to run forward.

Sokka wasn’t afraid.

He wasn’t afraid.

He wasn’t afraid.

He wasn’t! 

He was running to get Katara out of there because she was _scared_. Because she wanted to get back to camp and their parents and if he didn’t get her out there now then she might be too scared to move at all.

These thoughts kept running through Sokka’s head over and over again as they shot down the path as fast as they could. 

“The tree root, jump!” Sokka shouted before vaulting himself over the old gnarled root that was laying over the path. 

“AH!” Katara screamed. Mid jump her foot caught on the root causing her to fall. Sokka spun around and he was greeted with the sight of his sister sprawled out on the ground sobbing hysterically.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Sokka panted though right now he wasn’t sure if he was speaking to himself or his sister. Sokka felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck as he knelt down next to Katara.

He couldn't explain it but suddenly it felt like he was being watched from both sides. 

He didn’t have time to think of it though. Reaching forward Sokka pushed the thought out of her mind as he gathered Katara up in his arms. He didn’t know if she had broken her ankle or not but at that moment he didn’t care. 

Spinning around he hurried back down the path, determined not to stop until they got back to camp. With Katara in his arms, he was running faster now, with more determination. He had never felt more relieved to see his parents as he finally broke through the treeline and into the clearing. 

“Mom! Dad!” Sokka shouted as he continued to run towards them. Both Hakoda and Kya were in the center of the clearing, pitching Sokka and Katara’s tent. They both snapped their heads up and a feeling of terror filled them both at the sight of their children.

“What happened?!” Kya hollered as she and Hakoda immediately jumped up to their feet rushing towards their children.

“Hawk Point! Knocking! And and and a tree root!” Sokka bawled as both Kya and Hakoda knelt in front of them.

“Slow down boy!” Hakoda shouted as Kya pulled Katara out of Sokka’s arms and into hers. “What happened?” He demanded as he placed his hands on Sokka's shoulders. 

“Katara are you okay?” Kya asked at the same time. Sokka took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down. 

“Her ankle she hurt her ankle!” Sokka said, turning away from Hakoda as he looked at his mother and his sister. Hakoda had to shake him to his attention. “Sorry! We were running down the path and- and she tripped over a root on the path!” Kya nodded as she listened to him and gently placed Katara on the ground. She was sobbing loudly, far too hysterical to speak or verbalized what had happened. 

“Didn’t your mother tell you to be careful?” Hakoda demanded. “You shouldn’t have been running down that path!”

“We had to!” Sokka said. “Something...something was out there with us…” he said much more softly as he looked at his father with fearful eyes. Kya paused checking over Katara’s bruised ankle as she looked at her son.

“An animal?” Hakoda asked in a gentler tone. Sokka sniffed as he shook his head. 

“A person?” Kya asked, her tone filling with fear. 

“I...don’t know,” Sokka said honestly. “We got up the path okay and once we got up there we started to hear this knocking, I wasn’t scared but Katara began to freak out. And then we kept hearing the knocking and then there was more knocking behind us and Katara was so scared that we just started running!”

“Knocking?” Hakoda asked with a frown. “Are you sure it wasn’t just some snapping twigs?”

“WE AREN’T STUPID!” Katara exploded tears streaming down her face. “IT WAS KNOCKS!” 

“Okay, okay,” Kya said soothingly as she pulled Katara in a tight hug.

“Wood on wood knocks,” Katara added in a much smaller voice. “No animal does that…” Kya and Hakoda both exchanged a worried look. 

“Let’s all calm down,” Hakoda finally said gently. “Let’s just take a deep breath, step back, and finish setting up camp. We’ll cook hotdogs and marshmallows and I’m sure by then you guys will forget about the whole thing.”

As Hakoda spoke there was a hush that fell over the clearing and the woods that surrounded it. Birds stopped singing, animals stopped moving, it was as if the forest was holding its breath.

“Hakoda…” Kya whispered as she pulled in Katara closer to her chest. 

_KNOCK._

_KNOCK._

_KNOCK._

Katara whimpered as she hung onto Kya for dear life. Sokka let out a shaky breath as he reached out and grabbed his father’s shoulder. The knocking was right outside the treeline now, far closer then when they were back at Hawk Point Lookout. 

“How…” Sokka whispered as he stumbled backwards. The knocking before had been so far away. Whoever was doing it...Sokka couldn’t understand how they could be so close...even the return knocking had been far off.

“Come on!” Kya said as she picked Katara but in her arms. She could feel it, they all could. That hair raising feeling Sokka had on the trail as if something was watching them. “Sokka, Hakoda come on get in the car we’re going.” 

Neither needed to be told twice. Sokka hurried towards his father’s truck with his mother almost running behind him. Hakoda quickly gathered everything he could before throwing it in the back of his truck. They all quickly climbed in, slamming their car doors shut and peeling away from the campsite.

As they drove away, Sokka couldn’t help himself. He turned back and stared out the back window of the truck. The clearing remained empty but just near the treeline, he saw movement in the brush but not what was causing the movement itself. Sokka didn’t want to know what was out there, what had been knocking.

But at the same time, Sokka did.


	2. The Hunter and The Hunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ozai takes Zuko and Azula out into the woods on a hunting trip. While there they have a frightening encounter with a strange creature out in the woods, making them question just who is doing the hunting and who is being hunted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An extra chapter for Easter!

Zuko pressed his forehead against the back window of his father’s truck watching as miles and miles of forest blurred by. They had been on the road for over three hours now, getting further and further away from Republic City and the rest of civilization. Beside him, his annoying kid sister Azula was humming happily as she looked out of her window.

Of course she was excited. 

Azula was always excited whenever they went hunting with their father. She had seemed to inherit their father’s love for guns and killing things. Zuko, on the other hand, wished he could be back home with his mother. She was probably rearranging her closest for the thousandth time or watching a cooking show, or maybe gossiping with one of her friends or his uncle over the phone. All those things sounded dreadful boring to a thirteen year old Zuko but they all sounded better than being here and doing this.

Zuko felt so out of place. He felt like they were _all_ out of place covered from head to toe in camouflage in a large, shiny black pickup truck with hunting rifles in the bed of the truck. This was so out of the realm of who and what his family was.

His mother always said they were the upper crust of society. According to Ursa, there was the upper echelon and then there was _them_. They weren’t rich but wealthy and to Zuko, it would seem like wealthy people didn’t do stuff like this. At least in Zuko’s mind, they didn’t. Then again, Zuko glanced over at his sister who seemed happy as a clam and his father seemed to be in a better mood than usual.

Maybe it was normal and Zuko was just the odd one out but that had always been the case. At least when it came to Ozai and Azula, he was always the outsider. They both seemed to love all the things that Zuko hated and whenever he was around them just by himself it felt like torture, as if Ozai and Azula were sharing a secret joke behind his back and he was the butt of it.

Azula was the apple of Ozai’s eye. She did everything right while Zuko did everything wrong. His father’s disdain for him was clear, Ozai made no attempt to hide it much to Azula’s enjoyment. Zuko felt like such an outcast among them. He only felt truly accepted by his mother and his uncle. 

That’s why Zuko wished he was back home but he knew he had to come. Ozai might not like him and he might make that clear but if Zuko had asked to stay home Ozai’s opinion, if possible, would drop even further. That was the last thing Zuko needed. 

“Father,” Azula asked, pulling Zuko out of his thoughts.

“Yes, Azula?” Ozai asked, not taking his eyes off the winding road.

“Do you think that I’ll be able to sit in the front seat on the way back home?” She asked, her voice dripping with a sickly sweet tone. Zuko had to fight the urge to roll his eyes, she always used that voice with their father. It was her premium sucking up voice. 

“Perhaps,” Ozai said. Azula smiled triumphantly at Zuko as if she had already been granted the honor of sitting shotgun with their father. This time Zuko did roll his eyes as he turned away from Azula.

Ozai never allowed Zuko or Azula to sit upfront with him. He felt like neither of them had earned it. Zuko wasn’t sure what achievement they needed in order to be given such honor, maybe kill a fourteen-point buck or a mountain lion. 

The current passenger seat warmer was Dagger, Ozai’s beloved black and tan coonhound. He was a nasty piece of work but according to Azula, he was a pretty good tracker. 

“He helped me get my first rabbit,” she had bragged to him before leaving on this trip. As if that was something to be proud of. 

Ozai drove for another half an hour before pulling off into a gravel road. It took another fifteen minutes until they got to a gravelly parking lot. Ozai and Azula said nothing as they got out of the car. Sighing heavily Zuko pulled himself out of the car to and gently shut the door shut behind him. His father had popped open the cover of the truck bed and was pulling out the hunting rifles.

Zuko felt his mouth go dry as he looked at the guns. Ozai had shown him how to shoot a few times but when it became clear that Zuko wasn’t immediately picking up on how to do it he quickly abandoned teaching Zuko in favor of showing Azula how to shoot bigger and cooler looking guns.

“Do you remember what I taught you?” Ozai asked, clearly thinking along the same lines as Zuko as he carefully handed the rifle over to his son. “Or have you pushed the memory out of your mind?”

“Yeah I remember,” Zuko said with a nod as he carefully took the rifle. “I know the basic’s anyhow.” He added, buckling under his father’s harsh stare. Zuko’s hand shook as he wrapped one hand around the forestock of the gun and the other on the butt, keeping the muzzle facing towards the ground.

By this time Azula and Dagger had come around the truck and were standing beside their father. She looked like she had to hold back laughter as she watched her brother handle the rifle. Zuko tried his best to ignore her as he looked down at his feet. 

“Now for you my dear,” Ozai said to Azula in a much more affectionate tone as he pulled out her gun. Zuko felt himself deflate as he glanced up at the two. Ozai had given Zuko a simple, two-barrel shotgun. It looked like something his grandfather might have used when he went out hunting with Zuko's great, great grandfather.

Azula, on the other hand, had gotten a sleek black rifle and although it only had one barrel it had a scoop on top of it. He watched Azula handle the gun perfectly, much to their father’s pleasure. 

Then Ozai pulled out his rifle. It seemed like a better version of Azula’s gun with a cooler looking scoop and a flashlight attached to it. Ozai shut the cover of the truck bed before turning to look at his children. Zuko kept his eyes cast to the floor as he listened to his father speak.

“We’re hunting whitetails today,” Ozai announced. “And we aren’t leaving this forest until we get one. Am I understood?” Azula nodded eagerly while Zuko nodded his head once still looking at his feet.

“No does, just bucks,” Ozai said. “If you see one let me know. I want the kill am I understood?”

“Yes daddy,” Azula said obediently.

“Yes, father,” Zuko said softly. 

“Good,” Ozai said before turning around and heading towards the path that lead into the woods with Azula quickly trotting off after him. Zuko lagged behind them with a frown on his face. They walked for a while, not speaking. The only sound was that of the forest- the birds singing and the breeze rustling the trees and brush. 

As they walked, Zuko placed his feet in his father’s footprints to occupy his mind. Eventually, Zuko gave up on his effort and tried to do as his father had asked. He kept his eyes out for any signs of deer. Or at least he pretended to, he wasn’t really sure what signs to look for other than a huge buck prancing through the forest. 

They walked for about an hour with no luck. At this point, Zuko was covered in sweat and his legs felt like lead. He wanted to stop for a break but Ozai was pushing forward with Azula right behind him. Leading them was Dagger, his nose to the ground as he attempted to pick up a scent. 

Zuko was beginning to lag behind further. Slowing down as he fought his way through the brush. He was stepping over a rotten log when he felt something shift. The hair on the back his neck stood up and suddenly he got the feeling as if something was watching him. Zuko came to a stop and began to look around, scanning the woods for the source of the feeling. 

Zuko felt his heart begin to pick up as the feeling became more intense. Zuko wasn’t sure if it was some enate, animal instinct but though he was distracted he was becoming painfully aware that he getting further and further behind his father and sister. The back of the pack. The weakest link to be picked off. He immediately hurried forward to catch up with the others. 

The feeling still lingered as they continued forward. Zuko’s mouth dried out as he felt a pair of eyes boring into the back of his neck. Being with his father, Azula, and Dagger didn’t make him feel any safer nor did having a gun in his hands. 

“Azula,” Zuko whispered as he hurried to walk beside her.

“Hush boy,” Ozai whispered back harshly causing Zuko’s question to die in the back of his throat. Zuko shivered but said no more as he walked forward. He wanted to leave. He wanted to go back to the car.

The feeling in the pit of his stomach felt terrible...like he was being stalked by something. Like he was suddenly the one being hunted. 

Zuko glanced over at his sister and saw her jovial expression was gone now. A more serious one had taken its place and...if Zuko wasn’t mistaken there seemed to be a hint of worry in her molten eyes. 

That feeling in the pit of Zuko’s stomach suddenly felt worse. Azula was scared of nothing. She was his kid sister, only eleven, but she seemed so brave. Fearless. What the hell was staring at them that was making Azula worried? 

It wasn’t a mountain lion. Or a bear. Zuko didn’t know how he knew but he just did. Maybe it was because he knew his sister and he knew that Azula would be elated if they ran into a dangerous predator like that and she had the chance to see their father take it down- or better yet take it down herself. 

Zuko’s heart stuttered as Azula turned her head slightly to look at him. Their eyes locked and an understanding passed between them. Zuko nodded his head towards their father’s back. Azula slowly nodded her head once causing a shiver to run down his back.

Ozai felt it too. 

Those eyes on the back of their necks. 

Zuko let out another shaky breath as he pushed himself forward. He wasn’t sure how he was still moving, his legs felt weak and like they would give out at any moment. He forced himself to move forward though because he knew if stopped for one moment whatever or whoever was following them would reach out and grab him.

Just the thought made Zuko want to cry. He didn’t want to be here! He never wanted to come! He wanted to go home! He wanted to go home! He wanted to go home! He was never going hunting again, never! He didn’t care what his father thought or his sister said. If they got out of here alive he was staying in Republic City and never leaving. 

“Why-”

“Shush.” Azula hushed Zuko before he could get his thought out. Zuko scowled as he looked at her again.

 _“Why are we still walking forward?”_ Zuko mouthed to his sister. 

_“It’s behind us.”_ Azula mouthed back. _“We’re circling around.”_ Another shudder ran through Zuko as they followed Ozai. Their father was acting as he had this whole time in the woods and Dagger, his nose was no longer to the ground he was trotting forward leading them still.

Zuko noticed the dog seemed tenser than before. Staring intently ahead as they circled back around towards their car. Zuko wished his father would say something. Something to comfort them, something to let them know it would be okay. That they would get back to the car all in one piece and be back on the road again and going home soon. Instead, Ozai said nothing. He kept his back towards them and just kept walking forward.

Then Zuko saw it. Out of the corner of his eye a dark shadow moving through the brush. Zuko couldn’t help it, he let out a startled squeal as he jumped back dropping his rifle to the ground.

“Zuko!” Azula said turning to look at him with wide eyes. Zuko wasn’t listening though, he let out a panicked scream overwhelmed with the feeling of being stalked by some unknown creature hunting them. Without thinking he spun around and took off in the direction they had come bolting straight towards the car or at least where he thought it was.

“Let him go! Let him go!” he heard Ozai screaming but Zuko didn’t give his father’s words much thought. All hell was currently breaking loose! In the distance, Dagger began to bark his voice sounding like gunshots as he rattled off. Beside Zuko, in the brush, Zuko could hear something running beside him. 

He didn’t look! He dare not look at the creature! He knew it was big, each step it took forward caused the ground to shake. It was making grunting and growling noises as it chased after him. Zuko was sobbing now as he ran his tears blurring his vision as he hurried throughout the forest hoping he was going the right away. 

“GET AWAY!” a very human voice bellowed from behind Zuko and the creature. A second later he heard a series of gunshots from behind him. Zuko yelled as he dived towards the forest floor in hopes to avoid getting hit. He curled up tightly, his heart slamming so hard against his chest he thought he might be having a heart attack.

“GET AWAY!” the voice shouted again followed by four more gunshots. Suddenly a loud scream came from the brush. It was high pitch ear-shattering and nothing like Zuko had ever heard before. 

Inhuman.

The ground began to shake again as the creature ran in the opposite direction, retreating back into the forest.

“Zuko! Zuko!” he barely registered his name being called as he continued he sob. “Zuko!” He jumped when he felt a hand touching his shoulder. He screamed and scrambled away his eyes filled with terror. He held his hands up over his face in an attempt to protect himself.

“Zuko it’s me! It’s Azula! It’s okay!” She said hurriedly as she crouched down in front of her brother. She carefully placed her rifle down on the ground as she reached forward and grabbed his wrist causing him to scream again. He started to kick and push, trying to wiggle away from her.

“Zuko snap out of it!” Azula shouted, ignoring the pain in her already hoarse voice. “Please it’s me! It’s your sister!” Her words finally connecting with her brother and Zuko began to calm down as he looked up at Azula. 

“Wha- what happened? Where is that thing?!” He hollered.

“It ran off,” Azula said attempting to calm down, she knew they couldn’t both be freaking out. Not while they were still out there in the open. “I shot at it, I think I hit it…”

“Y- you shot it? That was you?” Zuko sniffed.

“Yeah didn’t you hear me screaming?” Azula asked.

“I- I did but I didn’t know it was you,” He stammered. 

“I was trying to scare it off, I wanted to sound bigger and scarier...but…” Azula shook her head as she trailed off.

“Wha...what was it Azula?” Zuko whispered. Azula was quiet for a very long time, a solemn look on her face as she thought over his question.

“I don't know,” She finally admitted. “I’ll tell you this though, whatever that thing was it was big, covered in fur, and moved on two feet. It had been following us for a while.” Zuko pushed the hair out of his face as he tried to wipe his tears away. 

“It was?” Zuko asked, a fresh wave of fear crashing over him.

“You didn’t notice?” Azula asked, bewildered by this. Zuko shook his head silently. “You didn’t hear it?”

“Not until it was chasing me,” Zuko admitted sheepishly.

“No, not the animal but the forest? Didn’t you hear everything go quiet?” She asked. Again Zuko shook his head, he hadn’t noticed. Or perhaps he had noticed but it just didn’t seem out of the ordinary to him at the time. 

“Is that...not normal?” Zuko asked.

“Of course not,” Azula scolded. “When the forest goes quiet it means one of two things: A large predator is passing through _or_ something’s in it that shouldn’t be.” 

“So which one was this?” Zuko asked.

“I-”

“ZUKO! AZULA!” The two siblings jumped as they turned to see Ozai breaking through the trees right behind Dagger. “Have you lost your minds?” He snarled as he approached them with a furious look. 

“I’m sorry,” they both said at once. 

“You could have gotten us killed!” Ozai snapped. “Zuko I expected this from but Azula? You should know better to run off when something like that is around! And look at what happened, your brother took off and it started to chase him.”

“But dad-” Azula began only for Ozai to cut her off.

“I’m disappointed in you Azula,” he said.

“She saved my life!” Zuko said as he scrambled up to his feet. 

“How touching,” Ozai spat. “Now let’s go!” He barked before brushing past both of them as towards the direction of the car. Zuko felt a crushing feeling at his father’s words. He couldn’t quite comprehend the weight of the meaning behind them. With a shake of his head, Zuko swallowed back his thoughts as he turned to look at Azula. Reaching forward he offered his hand to her. She hesitantly took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet. 

He could see the same crushing feeling that had just gone through him play across her face. She couldn’t understand her father’s anger either.

“Azula,” Zuko said softly, shaking her of her thoughts. “Thank you.” 

“There’s nothing to thank me for,” she said softly as she moved to pick up her rifle.

“You saved my life.” He repeated, much quieter this time.

“You’re my brother.” She whispered.

“LET’S MOVE!” Ozai bellowed and sure enough, they both did.

-

The walk back to the car was quiet and it was almost dark when they got back. Ozai was furious still as he placed the rifles back into the bed of the truck. Whatever that thing following them was, it was gone now much to Zuko’s relief. Ozai still said nothing as he marched over to the driver’s side of the car and swung his door open.

“Boy, let the dog into the back of the car,” Ozai snapped as he climbed into the driver’s seat. Zuko and Azula exchanged a confused look.

“Dagger isn’t sitting with you upfront?” Azula asked.

“No,” Ozai said a beat passed. “You are Azula.” Both siblings were taken aback by Ozai’s words. Ozai was furious with both of them, there was no question about that. So, then why was Ozai, who seemed most upset with Azula, rewarding her? 

“You took the shot at that thing” Ozai finally said, as if he was a mindreader. Azula nodded numbly, no look of triumph on her face now, as she moved around the car to the passenger seat. Zuko whistled at Dagger and motioned towards the back of the car, the dog immediately jumped in and Zuko was quick to follow.

None of them said anything else as Ozai began to drive away. Zuko turned his eyes towards his lap, too afraid to look out of the window for fear he would see the creature that had been hunting them. Zuko shut his eyes and took in a deep breath then, vowing he would never step foot back into these woods or any other again.


	3. Rock Throws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aang's pet dog Appa runs off into the woods behind his house! He enlists the help of his neighbor Toph Beifong to go help him. While out there they cross paths with something of great strength.

“APPA! APPA!” Aang shouted at the top of his lungs. Fear and worry washed over him as he watched his friend dart into the woods behind his house. “APPA! COME BACK!” Aang called as he ran through his backyard and for the treeline Appa had disappeared behind. His heart was slamming against his chest as he came to a stumbling halt just in front of it.

He felt horrible for the hesitation he felt but Aang couldn’t help it. He loved Appa but he hated these woods. He always had and he always would. His next door neighbor Toph had always teased him that the woods behind their houses were haunted. Apparently the rumor around Gaoling was that there was a mystical creature that lived in the wood and it wasn’t friendly.

Aang’s godfather, Gyatso was adamant that it was nothing more than a myth the adults in the area had come up with to make sure the kids didn’t wander around in the forest unsupervised and that Toph was trying to scare him because he was the new kid on the block. They had only lived here for six months and Gyatso was sure that once they settled in Aang would be fine.

They traveled and moved around a lot and in those travels, they had gone through many forests. Aang had never seen anything scary, not even a bear or mountain lion. He loved the woods, he loved nature, and the tiny animals and deer. Because of that Aang had initially been excited to be living in a house with a great amount of woods behind it.

However, these woods were different. They were unlike anything Aang had ever been in before. He always felt uneasy whenever he was in them, no matter where he was he always felt the hair on the back of his neck raise up like something was going to reach out and snatch him. Whenever he told Gyatso, his godfather always brushed it off as nerves.

“Nothing spooky is in there Aang, just take some bear mace and you’ll be fine.” He had promised. Still, Aang refused to go in. And usually so did his faithful great pyrenees Appa. That was another reason Aang hated to go back there. Appa who would go anywhere and everywhere with him and he liked the woods too.

But not these ones. Appa usually dug his heels in and refused to go, barking and carrying on if Aang tried to drag him in. The only way to get Appa to go in was if Aang forged ahead anyway, Appa would eventually follow but would be carrying on the whole time. So what had changed now? Why had Appa gone into the woods?

“APPA!” Aang called again.

“WILL YOU STOP HOLLERING!” Aang jumped at the sound of a familiar voice. He turned around to see his neighbor Toph Beifong standing at her back porch. “What are you carrying on about?” She shouted much more quietly.

“Appa went into the woods!” Aang cried, tears starting to falling down his face as fear started to sink in. He couldn’t explain it but there was a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Appa was in danger.

“So go get him,” Toph said unsympathetically. Aang’s only response was a low sob at the idea of going into those woods and the idea of Appa being in there by himself. Toph let out an annoyed sigh.

“Hang on let me go get my damn cane,” she snapped as she disappeared back into her house. She came back a moment later with her walking in cane in hand. She jogged down her steps and made her way over to the fence that separated their yards. Tossing her cane over she quickly scaled the fence and came over.

“You lily liver,” she muttered once she came to stand beside him.

“T-thank you,” Aang whimpered before they went into the woods. Aang immediately noticed that something was wrong. His nerves were already on edge but he knew his fear wasn’t irrational. All the hair on the back of his arms and neck had stood up and an eerie feeling had come over him.

“It’s quiet,” Toph observed softly and she was correct. The woods had gone silent except for the sound of their footsteps, Aang’s sniffling, and the sound of Toph taping her cane against the forest floor.

“APPA!” Aang shouted, his heart quickening still.

“Maybe you shouldn’t make too much noise,” Toph hissed.

“But-”

“There’s a big predator around somewhere,” Toph said softly, cutting off Aang. Aang shivered as he listened to her. Toph sounded so calm, so unafraid as she came to a stop. “I thought you went into the woods all the time.”

“I use to,” Aang confirmed. “But...I’ve never been around anything other than deer or squirrels.” Toph rolled his milky white eyes as she shook her head.

“Lucky you,” she said. “Usually when the forest goes quiet like this something big and something nasty is moving through it, don't start screaming your head off unless you want to become lunch.”

“How am I going to find Appa?” Aang asked, his voice shaking as he inched closer to her.

“Look for his tracks,” Toph instructed. Aang swallowed thickly and nodded and he turned his eyes to the ground. He couldn’t make out any clear tracks of any animal. He was about to start crying again when something caught the corner of his eye. He saw on a nearby tree a big tuff of white fur.

Aang gasped as he hurried forward and plucked it off the low hanging branch. It was Appa’s! His heart soared as he saw another tuff of white fur on another branch nearby. 

“Found something?” Toph asked.

“His fur! This way!” Aang said as he hurried forward. Toph followed the sound of his footsteps as Aang followed the trail. Appa’s fur was stuck on trees and in the brush leading both Aang and Toph to a small waterfall and stream that cut through the woods. The closer they got they could start hearing barking that sounded just like Appa!

Aang continued to push forward his heart soreing and twisting with fear at the same time as they got closer and closer. When they finally reached him they saw Appa standing on their side of the stream, his fur puffed out, as he barked louder than Aang had ever heard him. 

“Appa…” Aang whispered as he looked at his dog. He had never seen Appa in such a worked upstate, not even when they had wandered into these woods together before. Aang kept his eyes glued on Appa as he watched him. He didn’t have to courage to look at what his dog was barking at. He knew something was there. He could feel the presence of something else standing on the other side of the stream but Aang couldn’t lookup. 

A loud scream ripped through the silence of the forest causing both Aang and Toph to jump backwards. It was loud. Louder than anything Aang had every heard and high pitched. Before any of them could react a large rock went sailing through the air right above Aang and Toph’s heads and hitting a tree behind them.

Appa was going crazy now. Barking louder at the creature on the other side of the stream. Aang still didn’t look! He couldn’t! Instead, he kept his eyes focused on Appa.

“Appa come on! Come on! Come on!” Aang screamed at the top of his lungs just as another large rock sail across the stream again hitting another tree right behind them. Beside Aang, Toph was standing still as stone but he barely noticed as he called for his dog.

Across the stream, the scream was no longer screaming but grunting and making all kinds of strange noises. It almost sounded like a primate at the zoo as it ran back and forth along the brush in front of the stream. Even from where they were standing they could feel it moving. Each step it took it shook the earth.

Whatever it was, was huge!

“Get that dog,” Toph whispered. Toph’s words kick started Aang who had been frozen in spot this whole time. It was was one of the scariest things Aang ever did, darting forward in the direction that thing was in! But Aang couldn’t leave Appa with this rock throwing, ape sounding, giant beast! 

Just when Aang reached Appa and wrapped his hands around Appa’s collar another rock came flying from the opposite side of the stream. This time when it landed it hit the ground and caused a tremor to ripple through it. Aang couldn’t help the scream that ripped from his throat as he scrambled backwards pulling Appa along with him.

To his shock, Appa didn’t fight him as he dragged his dog backwards. Appa was about 120 pounds and by the way he was acting Aang thought it would be more of a fight. Aang held onto Appa’s collar for dear life as they rushed back.

“Let’s go!” Toph hissed. Aang didn’t have to be told twice. They both turned tail and began to hurry back in the direction they came. Aang didn’t know how Toph had managed without tapping her cane against the ground. He didn’t have time to ponder that thought because as they ran the thing started to scream again and a second later they heard the sound of large rocks hitting trees and the ground.

“We’re almost home!” Aang said as they came to the familiar treeline. The sound of the screaming was fainter now and they couldn’t hear rocks being thrown any longer. Once they broke into Aang’s backyard they collapsed against the ground panting heavily. Aang began to sob loudly, unsure what the hell had just happened. 

“Holy shit,” Toph panted. 

“What was that thing?” Aang cried.

“Something big and fucking terrifying,” Toph said. Aang took in a few gulps of air as he replayed what had just happened in his mind. What kind of animal could throw rocks that big? What kind of animal in those woods could cause the ground to shake like that? 

Appa let out a low whine pulling Aang from his thoughts. He snapped his head over at his dog and he felt his stomach drop even lower than possible. His face and chest were covered in blood. 

“Appa!” He cried as he rushed forward.

“What now?” Toph groaned.

“He’s cover in blood,” Aang said as he began to look around his dog for injuries. 

“Shit,” Toph said softly as she leaned forward. “Let me get my parents they can take us to their vet-”

“Wait…” Aang muttered as he looked over Appa.

“What?” Toph asked with a frown.

“I don't see any injuries on Appa I...I don't think this is his blood,” Aang said with wide eyes. Then he noticed something else, dark brown hair was hanging from his teeth. When he told this to Toph she chuckled nervously.

“Are you telling me your dog took a chunk out of that things ass?” Toph asked. “Props to you Appa.” Aang shook his head as he pulled the hair out of Appa’s mouth. It was coarse and wet with blood. 

“Appa...why?” Aang asked with wide eyes. “You aren’t violent...why did you go after this thing?” 

“I bet because it came to close to the house,” Toph said thoughtfully. “My dad always tells me if I’m out into the woods you aren’t supposed to run from a predator because it’ll chase you down, whatever that thing was definitely some kind of predator but it didn’t chase us back here.” Toph continued. “Maybe that thing was wandering close to the house and it got to close, maybe that’s why Appa chased it into the woods and took a bite into him.” 

“But it stopped running though,” Aang said. 

“Yeah cause Appa probably chased it back into its own territory across the stream,” Toph said. “That’s probably why it was making those noises and throwing rocks at us, it wanted us to get away from it! That’s why it didn’t give chase!”

“But Toph that thing was big,” Appa said with wide eyes. “I can’t imagine that Appa would be able to chase it away.”

“Appa is big too! I don’t care how big you are if you see 120 pounds of unbridled righteous fury coming at you, you start hauling ass.” Toph said quickly. “And I bet it was already spooked by being in a place it shouldn’t be...or maybe…” Toph trailed off as a thought crossed her mind.

“What?”

“Maybe that thing was young and didn’t know better than to not be scared of Appa if that makes sense,” Toph said softly. “Maybe it’s a mixture of both?” Aang groaned and shook his head.

“I don't want to think of there being more out there,” Aang whimpered.

“Too bad, there probably is,” Toph said. “And on that note, I’m leaving, I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

“Me too,” Aang said as he reached forward and pet the top of Appa’s head. “And Toph, thanks for coming with me.”

“Whatever,” Toph grunted as she stood up. She took a few steps before coming to a stop. “Actually, maybe we should have a sleepover tonight-”

“Yeah! Yeah!” Aang said eagerly as he shot up. 

“Alright calm down, let’s go and ask my parents,” Toph grunted.

“Maybe we should bathe Appa first,” Aang suggested.

“Yeah that’s probably a good idea, hey we should save the hair in Appa’s mouth maybe we can match it to something out in the woods and find out what that son of a bitch was.”


	4. Footprints On Kyoshi Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suki sneaks into the woods to met her friends, during her trip she finds something exciting.

“Okay...yeah I’ll bring some of my dad’s tools...I know...I know...I’ll meet you guys there in a half and hour,” Suki whispered into the house phone. She was crouched down behind her father’s old, leather recliner hiding from her mother. “I know...don't worry...okay see you soon...bye!” Suki hung up the phone and quietly crept across the living room floor to place it back up.

Very carefully Suki tiptoed towards the stairs. She knew her mother was right outside in the backyard, tending to her small patch of sunflowers. Her father was in the garage messing around with his car and Suki was supposed to be in her room. She was very grounded for an incident she may or may not have caused during her last softball game. Because of this, Suki had to move very carefully. 

She took the stairs two at a time, trying her best to avoid the ones that always squeaked. When she got back into her room she gently shut her bedroom door before heading over to her closet. She picked up her old, worn knapsack and placed it on her bed to go over the contents one more time.

Pocket knife? Check.

Water bottle? Check.

Potato chips? Check.

Suki nodded her head as she tied the bag up. Everything she needed for a short expedition into the woods was there. She had just gotten off the phone with her best friend, and the team captain of her softball team, Jo. She, along with some of the other girls on their team were going scouting around Bear Creek to find the perfect tree to start building a treehouse.

It was supposed to be the Kyoshi Warriors new homebase. Somewhere they could hang out after or before practice without one of their mom's nagging them or tossing them out of their house for eating all the good snacks.

Not everyone could make it today. Some of the other girls on the team had been grounded after the incident as well and they were good enough to actually follow their punishment. Suki on the other handed wouldn’t be weighed down by such moral anchors. She wasn’t wrong! She had been in the right to do what she did and would not be left out of picking a good tree!

“Now comes the hard part,” Suki whispered to herself as she swung her knapsack over her shoulder. She knew her father was currently in the garage where Suki needed to be. First off she needed to get some of her dad's tools most importantly a tape measure and maybe a couple of hammers and nails along with a level to store near the tree they picked. This treehouse project had not been greenlit by any of their parents so it would have to be done in secret. 

Along with some tools Suki was going to have to grab her bike. How was she going to do it? Suki didn’t yet know. She would have to make it up as she went along because the longer she sat here thinking about it the more time her mother had to finish her work in the garden and come inside to bust Suki.

Carefully Suki moved towards her bedroom door but came to a stop. She smacked her hand against her forehead, she couldn’t believe she had almost forgotten! Suki spun around and hurried over to her desk. All along her desk she had her newest plaster cast of animal prints. Along the shelves of her room she had some of her favorites. Whenever Suki went into the woods, which was frequent, she tried to find good animal tracks in order to cast. It was a cool hobby that her dad had introduced her to a couple of years ago.

Suki knew that if they were going to be near Bear Creek there was a good chance she might find some cool animal prints. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Suki quickly gathered up the plaster powder and the special water bottle she used for mixing, as well as the bowl and wooden spoon she mixed with. 

She quickly stuffed all her supplies into her knapsack before beginning her great escape. Slipping out her bedroom she crept across the hallway. When she got to the staircase she hopped on the railing and slid down it jumping off and landing on the carpet with a dull thud. She froze and waited to hear her mother screaming, when she didn’t she let out a breath of relief and moved towards the kitchen.

Crouching down she tiptoed underneath the windows as she listened for her mother. As she got closer to the screen door she heard something that lifted her spirits! Out in the backyard she heard her mother and father shouting at each other, arguing over the twisted up garden hose. Suki had to restrain herself from jumping for joy as she made a quick dash towards the garage. 

“Paydirt,” she whispered to herself when she saw her father had abandoned his tinkering on his car to go and fight with her mother. She remained quiet as she moved towards his standing toolbox tucked away in the corner of the garage. She began to raid it grabbing all the tools she could get her hand on stuffing what she could into her bag. It was quite heavy by the time she swung it over her shoulders for a second time. 

She walked over to her cherry red bike and grabbed the handles, rolling it out onto the driveway. She peaked her head around the corner to check to see if either parent were coming her way but saw no sign of them. They were still in the back yelling much to Suki’s delight.

Swinging her leg over her bike she placed her foot on the right pedal before pushing off. She began to ride down the street towards the end of the cul de sac as fast as she could. She cut through the Henderson's backyard and broke through the treeline and into the woods. She pedaled for a little bit, hoping over tree branches and dodging rocks, until she got onto the beaten down path that led to the creek.

“Too easy!” Suki celebrated as she began to pedal down the path a little slower. She couldn’t believe her luck! It was like the planets had aligned and she was able to slip out of her parents house without them catching her.

Now, getting back in would be a different story but Suki would worry about that on her way home. She wasn’t thinking about that right now though. All she could think about was just how awesome her luck had been. She was so elated that she missed the rock sticking out in the middle of her path. Though it did immediately come to her attention when the front wheel of her bike caught said rock and sent Suki flying over her bike handles.

She hit the ground with a loud ‘oof!’ and slide a forward a few feet away from her bike. She let out a low groan when she came to a stop. She laid sprawled out on the ground for a few moments before she pushed herself up to her feet, her head pounding. Suki took a second to collect herself before moving forward. She had some cuts and scrapes and she could feel the spots were bruises would form but other than that nothing felt broken or twisted.

She let out a low sigh as she brushed herself off. As she did so something a little further up the path caught her attention. Frowning Suki took a few steps forward and felt a gasp leave her throat as she looked down on a track.

She had never seen anything like it before. It was a huge track, again, bigger than any Suki had yet to see and she had seen some big ones. From elk to mountain lions to even grizzly bears on the most southern part of the island.

But this.

This dwarfed any of those and didn't look like the track of any animal she had ever seen before. It was a large footprint right in the center of the path. The footprint was about five inches deep and about ten times the size of her father’s foot and he wore a size fourteen! There were five distincts toes at the track almost like a humans or maybe an ape or maybe-

“Holy shit,” Suki said, her eyes growing wide as the realization came over her. “Bigfoot…” she muttered as she took in what she was really looking at. She stood there for a few seconds looking down at the footprint in awe. After a few minutes she began to carefully step around it so she could look for more prints!

“Damn…” Suki said after a few minutes or looking to no avail. “This thing must be massive...only one footprint, does that mean it only took one step to cross this whole path?” Suki muttered to herself. She took a step back and looked from one side of the path to another. It might not be the widest path but no normal sized human could clear it in just one step.

Kneeling down on the ground Suki immediately pulled her knapsack off and began to take out the things for making a plaster cast- there was no way she wasn’t going to preserve this! She had to show anyone with eyes!”

“A Bigfoot here on Kyoshi Island- I can’t believe it!” She squealed as she started mixing her things, her excitement growing. It took a few tries and almost all the plaster she had but eventually Suki was able to cover the whole track. Knowing it would take some time for the plaster to set, Suki grabbed her bike and headed down to the creek, excited to share the good news. She had one hand on the handles and the other holding her dirty bowl and spoon.

When she got there she immediately saw her friends on the other side of the stream. She dropped her bikes and ran across the water.

“There you are!” Jo called waving at Suki. “What took you so damn long?”

“You think it’s easy to sneak out of the house?” Suki asked as she got walked over to the other girls. There were about six of them there including Jo and herself. 

“I see you stopped to make a plaster cast before coming down,” Jo laughed. “That couldn’t have anything to do with your lateness.”

“I had to!” Suki said, causing the other girls to laugh.

“Would you die if you didn’t?” Jo asked, placing her hands on her hips. 

“You guys are never going to believe it,” Suki said a wide smile stretching across her face. “On my way down here I saw a Bigfoot track! Right in the middle of the path.”

A beat passed.

Then another.

Then everyone, with the exception of Suki, broke out into laughter. Suki felt herself deflate as her friends all bent over, busting a stitch as they slapped their hands on her knees and doubled over.

“What?” Suki asked, sounding quite dejected.

“Suki, you saw that thing and actually thought it was real?” Jo asked, once she began to sober up.

“I mean...why wouldn’t it be?” Suki asked with a frown a blush rising to her cheeks as her question provoked another wave of laughter.

“There’s no such thing as a Bigfoot silly,” Jo said with a sharp smile.

“But I found a track…” Suki said pointing to the trail she had just come from.

“It was so clearly fake!” one of the other girls said. “Properly one of the boys in the neighborhood made it to get some sucker like you excited.” At that Suki scowled, taking a step away from her friends. She felt her chest tighten as her eyes began to warm up, tears starting to collect around the edges of her eyes.

“Whatever,” she muttered as she turned around and began to trudge back across the creek.

“Hey where are you going?” Jo called out.

“Home!” Suki said over her shoulder. She wasn’t going to stand around and let her friends make fun of her. 

“Don't be a cry baby!” Jo called out. “Come on Suki!” But Suki was ignoring her. She grabbed her bike and hopped on riding back up the trail. She had been so excited to tell her friends...now she just felt like an idiot as she hurried back home. When she came across the track she almost considered just leaving it there but she still came to a stop. 

She had already used all her plaster powder. Might as well pick it up and take it home, fake or not. Hopping off her bike she knelt down beside the track and took out her pocket knife. She felt around it and found that it seemed hard enough. She began to cut into the dirt to loosen up the track.

When she was done she slipped her knife back into her pocket before digging her fingers into the dirt. She started to wiggle it back and forth when an eerie hush fell over the forest. Suki’s ears twitched as she picked her head up as a feeling of being looked at washed over her. She turned her head towards the side of the woods and felt her heart stop.

About ten feet away stood a creature that seemed to be larger than life. It stood on two feet and was so tall and wide it easily eclipsed her father who was 6’6 feet tall and over 300 hundred pounds. This thing had to be at least 10 feet tall and how much it weighed she couldn’t guess. It was covered in dark brown fur and had a face that looked like an ape. 

Bigfoot.

Suki could only describe it as such. Suddenly, Suki didn’t feel so excited as she stared at the large beast and it stared back. Her heart began to speed up in her chest and she began to shake with fear. 

“SUKI!” Jo shouted, almost causing Suki to jump out of her skin! Her head snapped in that direction to see Jo hurrying down the path. Her face was bright red and she looked soaked in sweat as she came to a stop. “Why did you leave?” She demanded. Suki opened her mouth to tell Jo about the creature not but 10 feet away from them when she heard rustling coming from where the Bigfoot had been standing.

Suki turned to look in that direction to see the creature running off into the woods. Her eyes went wide and the incredible speed of such a huge animal.

“Suki?” Jo asked. “Don't tell me you saw Bigfoot.” She laughed.

“I didn't,” Suki said swiftly, coming back to her senses. She didn’t want to go through Jo laughing at her again.

“Come on, why don't we go back and look for a tree,” Jo said.

“I’m going home,” Suki repeated as she pulled the track from the path. No way she was leaving this behind now. 

“Suki we were just joking,” Jo tried again but Suki paid her no mind. Instead she stuffed her new plaster cast into her knapsack, hardly paying attention to Jo. Her mind was currently trying to paint the picture of what the hell she had just seen.

“I gotta go,” Suki said distractedly as she picked her bike up. “See you later.” She said over her shoulder as she rode back home. She rode faster this time, looking at every tree and boulder to see if Bigfoot might be standing there but no luck. She felt a shiver go down her spine when she cut off the path and rode through the woods to get back to her street. She expected Bigfoot to jump from behind every tree and she pedelled just a little harder until she broke through the treeline.

When she got home her parents were waiting for her and she had gotten the riot act and another whole month of being grounded. They took her bike and her knapsack and when they found the Bigfoot track they just rolled their eyes. When they found her father’s tools she got another few weeks of being grounded and yet another lecture.

Suki didn’t care though. All she could think about was the Bigfoot she had just seen and if she would be able to see him again. 


	5. Team Hawk Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thirteen years after the Gaang's strange encounters in various different woods Sokka has gathered his friends to start a new era for his team.

“Alright, so this is the crew!” Sokka chirped excitedly as he panned his camera around his tiny, studio apartment. 

“Please do us all a favor and never utter the sentence ‘this is the crew’ again,” Azula pleaded, causing Sokka’s bright smile to quickly fade. He turned and pointed his camera in her direction, a scowl forming on his brow. Azula was lounging in Sokka’s favorite armchair, with a smug look written across her face. She had a carton of Fire Nation food in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other.

“I guess introductions are in order,” Sokka said, his upbeat tone faltering a little. “This is our resident hunter and asshole Azula-”

“Sokka!” Katara scolded. “Don't call Azula names.” Sokka smiled and turned the camera on his sister who was sitting on the arm of the chair Azula was in. Sokka zoomed in on his sister’s face causing her frown to grow.

“This is my little sister Katara, our resident cryptozoologist and researcher, in real life, she’s also an actual zoologist,” Sokka said, a hint of pride coloring his tone. “She’s a very smart woman and a bit of a know it all.”

“Oh screw you Sokka!” Katara snapped.

“I just gave you a compliment!” He insisted.

“You called me to know it all!” She shot back.

“You know it all about everything, that’s a very good thing!” Sokka promised.

“I would like to interject,” Azula said. “Put the camera on me, thank you Sokka, I would like to add on that I am the security for the team.” At that everyone let on a collective scoff only causing Azula’s smile to grow.

“Moving on, we have Aang, our team shaman,” Sokka said panning the camera over towards Aang who was sitting at the kitchen counter beside Toph. “And beside him, we have Toph, our tech expert.”

“Hello,” Aang said politely waving at the camera.

“S’up,” Toph said before letting out a loud belch. 

“And over here we have the wonderful Suki,” Sokka said as he turned the camera to her. She was sitting on the couch with her legs spread out across the cushions. “She’s the best investigator we have! She always seems to get the most sasquatch encounters whenever we go out on an investigation!” 

“Hi,” Suki said with a shy smile.

“And last but not least, there’s me!” Sokka said, turning the camera onto himself. “The leader of Team Hawk Point and the lead investigator. I am also the best driver in the group.” He continued to say.

“That’s a lie and you know it,” Azula said. Sokka turned to her and couldn’t help but roll his eyes. While he had been introducing everyone else on the team Katara had migrated into Azula’s lap. 

“Please let’s not have this argument again,” Katara pleaded as she reached forward to grab a noodle from Azula’s carton of food. Sokka and Azula laughed before Sokka turned the counter back on himself. 

“Alright well, I guess there’s nothing more to say,” Sokka said a bit sheepishly. “That’s our team! We’ll be filming and uploading our own personal stories about different encounters we've each had with a cryptid soon and then hopefully after that I plan on actually filming one of our investigations! We’ll see you guys soon!” Sokka promised before turning off his camera.

As Sokka was fumbling around with his camera Katara got a call on her phone. She got up quickly and moved to the bathroom in order to answer it.

“I think that was good!” Sokka said happily as he turned to look at his friends.

“I do too,” Aang said happily.

“So do I,” Suki said with a nod of her head. “So when do you want to get together to film our encounter stories?”

“Probably on Wednesday,” Sokka said with a bright smile. He was happy to see her taking a more active role in their budding channel. It had been a long road in order to get both her and Katara on board with filming their investigations and posting them for the public to see. Since college, Sokka had been suggesting this and it had been like pulling teeth to get them to even start considering the idea.

Back in their younger days, Katara and Suki had argued about their careers. They didn’t want any future employers to see them running around the woods knocking on trees with branches and shouting at sasquatches to see if they could get a response. To that point, Sokka could understand, to anyone who didn’t get what they were doing they probably did look like a bunch of jackasses. That wasn’t even mentioning the taboo that came with seriously entertaining the idea of things like Bigfoot existing. 

Nowadays Katara and Suki both worked for him at his small gym in downtown Republic City. He knew Katara still had some reservations, she was the mother of a young daughter and she didn’t want anything she did to affect her. However, once Suki had gotten on board it was hard for Katara to keep saying no.

Aang and Toph had always been open to the idea because they had never had conventional careers and while Azula had always been against it Sokka knew she had just said no because she wanted to simultaneously appease Katara and piss him off. As the years went on Azula had become more and more indifferent to the idea. Basically with everyone now willing to do it Katara would either have to walk away from their team or agree to allow Sokka to start filming their adventures. 

“What time on Wednesday?” Azula asked, shaking Sokka from his thoughts. He blinked a few times and turned to look at her. 

“I don't know yet, I’ll text you guys when I figure it out,” Sokka said. “You don't have an important meeting with daddy that day do you?” He teased only causing Azula to shrug. 

“I’ll have my people call your people,” she said just as Katara came back into the room. 

“Everything okay?” Suki asked when she saw the look on her friends face.

“Yeah it was just my dad apparently Kya got ketchup all over his kitchen ceiling, he’s ready for us to come and pick her up.” She said.

“Ketchup on the kitchen ceiling?” Azula laughed before a thought occurred. “Is he going to make us clean it up like he did with the mustard?” Azula asked with a frown as she pushed herself up to his feet. “Because if that’s so then I’m just going to drop you off at Hakoda’s apartment and go home.”

“Why does your daughter waste perfectly good ketchup and mustard on a ceiling?” Toph demanded as Aang began to stand. It was clear that their little meeting was coming to an end.

“She's four Toph,” Katara said defensively before turning to Azula. "And I'll die before I let you get out of helping cleaning that mess up Azula," Katara informed her wife. 

“I didn’t do that shit when I was four,” Toph pointed out as she started to stand up as well. Suki shook her head as she got up, Sokka watched as everyone gathered by the door and started to prepare to go.

“Alright guys,” Sokka said, cutting through Katara and Toph’s bickering. “Have a good night, get out, I’ll text you later!” He promised as he started to push them out of the door. They each said their goodbyes as they left, leaving Sokka happily by himself.


End file.
